Freddie Rahmer and his brother, Brandon, are following in the footsteps of their dad, Fred, who is one of the most successful drivers in central Pennsylvania sprint car racing.
“The mental side is tough,” Freddie Rahmer said. “Honestly, some just don’t recover. My dad and I, we talk about being as tough as possible.”
What gets lost in the Hall of Fame careers of Dewease and Fred Rahmer are the struggles along the way. After winning six straight Lincoln Speedway championships from 1997 to 2002, Rahmer went winless at the track in 2003. He won four more Lincoln track titles before he retired in 2013.
Dewease, meanwhile, worked through his share of lumps not that long ago. From 2013 to’15, he split from two race teams without living up to his standards.
Approaching age 50, many believed Dewease’s best days as a driver were behind him. Now, he’s in his sixth year of wheeling Kreitz’s No. 69k sprint car and plans to show the next wave of drivers what it means to be Posse well into his 60s.
“I think I can do this at a high level for at least five more years … if I stay healthy,” Dewease said. “Look at Tom Brady (44). He just won a Super Bowl. He’s pretty old for a football player and he could win a couple more (championships) if he wanted to. But he could be done with one snap of the football if he gets the wrong injury.”
In an age of social media, higher speeds and modern driving tactics, Dewease’s low-key, tactical nature keeps him relevant.
“He’s always been that way,” Kreitz said. “I think that’s what made last year’s Tuscarora 50 so special.”
After Macri and Kyle Larson dominated the season at Port Royal Speedway last year, Dewease topped the $53,000-to-win Tuscarora 50 in his usual style — being patient in the track’s low groove.
It is a timeless style and one that clashes with sprint car racing’s young guns who make headlines running the cushion.
“There are guys that make me go, ‘Wow,’” Dewease said. “But they don’t win the races.
“I feel like people always underestimated me my whole career because I’m low-key,” Dewease added. “I don’t self-promote. I don’t go out afterward, have beers, stay in the parking lot, and shoot the shit. I may not be the most exciting person. You know what I mean? It’s just not me.”
Dewease paused, and grinned.
“But we sit in victory lane,” he said.
Dewease’s legacy will forever run deep in central Pennsylvania. It extends beyond his 300-plus wins, seven Tuscarora 50 titles and four National Open victories. However, those are merely gold stars on a résumé.
Dewease’s imprint on the future is his legacy.
“If you want to be successful, you have to run the bottom,” Freddie Rahmer said. “(Lance is) really good and tactical at it. And not only that, he knows when to go to the bottom. I’ve worked hard at that.”
“You see all the greats — Fred (Rahmer), Lance (Dewease), Greg (Hodnett) — who won 20 to 30 races a year,” Dietrich said. “That’s what I want to be.”
“He’s still really good at it,” said Kauffman, who serves on the Juniata County Fair Board, which oversees Port Royal Speedway. “Hopefully, (the Posse) keeps going.”
Dewease isn’t finished delivering on behalf of the Pennsylvania Posse. Last year, the Posse failed to beat the Outlaws for the first time since 1997 and Dewease wants to right the ship.
“We didn’t win against them last year,” Dewease said. “But this year, I want to beat them. We all want to beat them.”
Dewease still thinks about the preliminary night of the 2018 Williams Grove National Open, and how he was met with the chilling realization of being the last of an era. That night, 16-year-old Giovanni Scelzi triumphed for the invaders.
Dewease returned the next day and delivered the ultimate victory for the Posse and its fans.
“Everybody wanted that,” Dewease said. “Our fans wanted a local to win. I wanted a local to win. Everybody wanted that. Those are the moments you remember. Not so much the win itself. It’s those moments I’ll remember forever.”
Now, he’s the bridge from the Posse’s golden era to its wide-open future.
“And, hopefully, someone is there to keep it going when I’m gone,” Dewease said.